No ships inspected Sunday, Monday under Black Sea grain deal - UN

Ukraine has been putting forward daily a list of ships to be authorized. Ukraine has told the JCC that 62 vessels are waiting to travel to Ukrainian ports, of which eight have been put forward for authorization by the JCC, the United Nations said in a statement on Monday.

The United Nations said no ships were inspected on Sunday or Monday under a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, which Moscow has threatened to quit on May 18 over obstacles to its own grain and fertilizer exports.

Officials from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations make up a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul, which implements the Black Sea deal agreed in July. Ukraine has been putting forward daily a list of ships to be authorized.

Ukraine has told the JCC that 62 vessels are waiting to travel to Ukrainian ports, of which eight have been put forward for authorization by the JCC, the United Nations said in a statement on Monday. The JCC has not agreed to any new authorizations for the past several days.

Once approved, ships are inspected by JCC officials near Turkey before traveling to a Ukrainian Black Sea port via a maritime humanitarian corridor to collect their cargo and return to Turkish waters for a final inspection. "There are currently 26 vessels in Turkish waters loaded with 1,157,974 metric tonnes of grain and foodstuffs," the United Nations said on Monday.

"There are currently 14 vessels in the Ukrainian ports loading approximately 600,000 metric tonnes of grain and foodstuffs." Three ships are in transit, the United Nations said.

The deal also provides for the export of fertilizer, including ammonia, but "there have been no such exports so far," the United Nations said.